WorkedinWesterly (et al):
Knowing how you feel about what Guild/Fender did to your job, I don't want to dimish the reality of your pain over it. Certainly you must have devoted a ton of energy and poured a lot of yourself into what you did, because that's your way. I've always known you to give 110% in all you did.
Having said that, allow me a chance to put into words what you and I both know as reality, for the sake of conversation, and nothing more:
1) When the Unions were formed in the 20's & 30's the typical work environment was really in need of reconstitution. Unsafe conditions, ......dirty conditions,.......long work weeks,.........lousy pay....no medical benefits......all of that and more.
2) The Unions made a way for the rest of us, for reasonable work hours, benefits, safety, and we are forever in their debt for having done so. Taking a stand so that we would not have to go through what they did. I respect that, and appreciate it.
3) Over the years the Union shops have set the bar for other companies, Union and non-Union alike. The wages negotiated for were constantly on the rise above the more moderate street wages, (I worked for Pratt & Whitney for 10 years, and went through a number of strikes and so forth). It got to a point where the companies could no longer afford to pay the benefit packages and payroll without having serious shortfalls in their operating budgets.
4) Along comes NAFTA, (with Ross Perot and his pointer as advocate) and suddenly employers are being allowed to look outside our boarders for some lower wage options, and they did. No employer (including the one I currently work for, that has sent me to Mexico and China where we have satelite companies) who has had to explore out-of-country options has been happy about it and yet the savings were too tempting for them to ignore.
5) The downside of out-of-country work is the lack of jobs here, and I appreciate the significance of that fully. It is an unfortunate part of NAFTA. I am as upset about that as the next guy/gal.
6) As for the quality of workmanship of product "out-of-country," it is dependant on what country being discussed. My observations as an Auditor of Process in these out-of-country locations are varied. In the case of Mexico, they didn't "take ownership" of the product, and generally it was reflected in the lack of quality of the product coming out of there. We (in our case) pulled our product out of Mexico and brought it back home. Not so, the China plant that I've been to (was there for 9 days in Shanghai). What I saw there were workers who knew that there were 10,000 other bodies who could take their place, and were meticulous in their work because of it. The "boss" could walk by, and if he saw you picking your nose, could fire you.
7) "Out-of-Country" locations are under certain restrictions,......such as who provides the material, and what Quality Control measures are in place. In our case, the materials used on our product there are sent to them by us, (also some local suppliers are used, but only after they have passed rigorous review by us), and the QC procedures and AQL (Acceptable Quality Limits) are established by us.
8.) In spite of how I feel about keeping jobs here, I recognize as I'm sure you do, that companies were forced to seek reductions in how much they spent to keep their plants open, and it was primarily the Health Care and Wage concessions that brought this about. Certainly we need good Health Care, and Health Care itself is partly to blame for not having done what they could to keep the costs down, but that was controlled by litigation insurance for physicians who were being sued left and right.
9) Guitars, (Guild, Yamaha, whomever) are just another product that fits within this same situation. I've seen the quality that comes from there and have played the $30,000.00 Gibsons from the States and not found much difference (speaking as a novice guitar player, of course,.........I can't match your expertise on the instrument or knowledge of it's creation. I bow, as I always have, to your superior experience and knowledge in this). in the way it sounded or played.
10) I'm thankful that Fender brought Guild to California, and now back to the North East. Mostly because it keeps American workers working. But I'm not adverse to what is coming in from other places. Would I like to see all manufacturing brought back to the States? You bet! Do I believe that's a realistic hope? No. Not as long as the Unions keep draining the coffers dry in major corporations, and not as long as litigation rules the Insurance world, which in turn, rules the Health Care costs.
I'm sure there are subtle ways that you, as an experienced person, can determine the inferiority of the mid-range priced guitars, but for the average joe player like me, they don't impede my ability to love to play.
The instruments that are not domestic may not be what would have been wanted. Heck, if we could have achieved a domestically-made guitar for the price of the mid-range instruments from China, with all the quality expected, .........that's the optimum situation......don't you agree?
and no one ever asked for a grinder within my hearing.
